Chapter 526: Code Centipede

'Huh? Really shocked?'

'You see, playing games can actually be useful...'

'Next time my parents object to me playing games, I'll use this living example...'

Zhang Yong thought with a sour face.

Suddenly, he felt a little sad. Alas. He had crossed over.

He wondered how his original world and his original family were doing.

However, he quickly pulled himself together.

If he was here, he might as well settle in. There was no need to feel sad.

If he had the chance to kill the Japanese invaders, what was there to feel sad about?

If he could make a name for himself, he could start a new page in the family tree. He could burn the first incense stick at every New Year's Eve and every Chinese New Year...

Become famous!

Bring honour to the family!

It's much better than leading a life of mediocrity.

The year 1936 was approaching. Zhang Yong was no longer the same inexperienced man he had been. He would never again be so scared that he urinated in his pants.

Now, he could kill someone right in front of his eyes without flinching.

'I want to know about Operation Blade. Everything.' Zhang Yong got straight to the point.

'I...' Asakura Mikado hesitated for three seconds. After three seconds, he confessed.

Since the other party had captured him,

and knew so many of his ancestors.

How could he hide it?

"Actually, we are not targeting students.'

'Oh, then who are you targeting?'

'The centipede of the Red Party.'

'What?'

'A leader of the Red Party. Codename Centipede. We want to dig him out.'

'How do you know this Centipede?'

'He has sabotaged our plans several times.'

'What plans are you talking about?'

'Assassinations.'

'Assassinations of whom?'

'Feng Zhenan, Zhang Zizhong, Liu Ruming, etc.'

'You want to assassinate them?'

Zhang Yong was taken aback.

Really.

These Japanese invaders really have a lot of nerve.

They are all big shots in the army! They are all power-brokers! They all have guns!

It can be seen how crazy the Japanese invaders are.

'With just a handful of people like you, can you pull off such a big operation?'

'Many of us.'

'Never mind. So you know about the centipede.'

'Yes. This centipede is very powerful. It hides very deeply. It has never been in our field of vision.'

'What is your plan?'

'We have arranged for more than 30 people, armed with guns, to mix in with the parade.'

'Are you trying to cause bloodshed?'

'No. Our aim is to target the centipede.'

'Tell me more.'

'The people we sent out, all armed with submachine guns, will definitely not go unnoticed by the Red Party. They will definitely send someone to deal with it. Then we will follow the clues and find out the leader behind the student movement. One of them, whose code name is Centipede.'

'Then...'

Zhang Yong wanted to say something but stopped.

Shit, I actually guessed wrong.

I only guessed the first level, but it turned out that someone else was on the fifth level.

I thought the Japanese invaders wanted to cause bloodshed. Little did I know that the others were going to use the plan to lure the snake out of its hole.

They are all masters of espionage!

I am ashamed to be outdone.

I still have a lot to learn.

No wonder there are only ten bullets for each decoy. It turns out that these ten bullets will never be used. Giving too much is like giving a gift to the Red Party.

The Red Party is well organised, so it is impossible for them to infiltrate the ranks with guns. The weapons will definitely be confiscated.

If Zhang Yong could think of it, why couldn't the Red Party leaders?

If they couldn't even think of that, how could the Red Party ever hope to win in the future?

They were far-sighted.

They had a broad perspective.

They were the best at what they did.

However, the Red Party probably didn't realise that they were being targeted.

The Japanese had already realised their existence. So, a trap was set for their leaders. Waiting for them to show their faces.

It was very cunning.

But it was very effective.

The Japanese were not useless.

'Are you from the Matsui residence?'

'No. I'm from the Dandelion Agency.'

'What?'

'Dandelion. Our agency code name is Dandelion.'

'Er...'

Zhang Yong hurriedly jotted it down.

Another new secret organisation! The Japanese invaders love to come up with all kinds of new terms.

Plum, orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum are fine, but dandelions? But this dandelion is really something. It dares to assassinate the top brass of the 29th Army. It really is fearless.

'Who is the head of your secret organisation?'

'Ushijima Mitsuru.'

'Who?'

'Ushijima Mitsuru?'

'Wait...'

Zhang Yong felt the need to do some background checks.

Was this Niujima Mitsuru the same Niujima Mitsuru who had committed suicide during the Battle of Okinawa? And this guy was the head of the secret service?

Recalling. There was no detailed information on Niujima Mitsuru.

This guy had been to China? And he had been the head of the secret service?

Frowning.

Thinking back. It didn't seem strange.

Many Japanese invaders were well-versed in China.

Apart from Isogai Rensuke, Sakagaki Seishiro and Doihara Kenji, most of the others knew China quite well.

It seems that people like Yamashita Hōbun and Matsui Isone had actually travelled in China many times. Even Tojo Hideki had a very deep understanding of China. And Okamura Tōjirō needless to say.

In later generations, the Japanese game series Sanguozhi did so well, how could it be done without a good understanding?

'What is the specific task of your Pu Jiguan?'

'Elimination.'

'What do you mean? Who do you want to get rid of? What do you want to get rid of?'

'Get rid of all obstacles. Whether they are people or other things. As long as they are obstacles, get rid of them all.'

'So who are you going to get rid of now?'

'I don't know about the others. My task, together with Mori and Date, is to find and get rid of the Red Party members.'

'Mori? Is it the Mori Motonari Mori?'

'Yes...'

'Date, is it the Date Masamune Date?'

'Yes...'

Asakura Sangen gradually became more and more pious.

Because Zhang Yong really knew too much. This was the first time he had met a Chinese person who knew so much about Japanese history.

The others didn't know. None of the people he had met even knew who Oda Nobunaga was. However, this person in front of him knew about Mōri Motonari and Date Masamune. That was really amazing.

Curious...

Why did the other person know so much?

It didn't feel like the other person was Chinese. And it didn't feel like the other person was from the underworld either.

'Who exactly are you?'

'My name is Qiu Tianlai.'

'Qiu...'

'I have been to Japan. I travelled there for a while.'

'Really?'

'Sort of!'

Zhang Yong nodded.

Playing games is sort of the same thing!

Taiko Risshiden 5, he has played for a long time.

And Nobunaga's Ambition, he has also played for several generations. Therefore, he has a better understanding of the history of the Japanese invasions and the Warring States period.

'So, what do you want now?'

'To get rich.'

'But you can't come after us!'

Asakura Sanma blurted out.

As soon as the words came out, he realised that they were wrong. But there was no way to take them back.

His face instantly turned pale.

He was afraid that he would die on the spot.

Fortunately, Zhang Yong didn't care. He said indifferently, 'You have money.'

'We?' Asakura Sanma was stunned.

'Yes. Right now, the wealthiest people in North China and the three northeastern provinces are you Japanese.'

'But...'

'I need money. You have money.'

'Er...'

Asakura Mikado was suddenly speechless.

The other party's words were so blunt. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.

This Qiu Tianlai guy wasn't wrong. Most of the economy in North China was indeed controlled by the Japanese.

As far as he knows, the pawnbroking industry in Beiping, also known as the capital city of 49, is completely dominated by Shunfeng Pawnshop. The other pawnbrokers either agreed to Shunfeng Pawnshop's terms and conditions and became part of Shunfeng Pawnshop, or were suppressed by Shunfeng Pawnshop and could no longer operate. They had no choice but to close down.

Currently, there are still more than 30 pawnbrokers of varying sizes in Beiping, basically all of them are Shunfeng Pawnshop's lackeys.

The boss of Shunfeng Pawnshop is the leader of the industry.

No one can replace him.

If someone wants to rob the pawnshop industry, they really can only target Shunfeng Pawnshop.

'What's Ma Yali's name?'

'Yuntaro Ita.'

'And Mori?'

'Keiki Mori.'

'Are they still inside?'

'Yes...'

'Where did you get your weapons?'

'They were issued by the authorities.'

'Ushijima Mitsuru?'

'Actually, Ushijima is a figurehead. Our real head of the secret service is Inaba Kojiro. He reports directly to Katsuji Katsuki.'

'I see...'

Zhang Yong wrote down this information.

He didn't know who Inaba Kojiro was, but he knew Katsuji Katsuki.

At the time of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, this Katsuji Katsuki was the commander of the Japanese Kwantung Army. He ordered the assault on Wanping.

Before that, this guy had worked with Tojohara Kenji to bring Puyi to the northeast. They established the puppet state of Manchukuo.

It's not an exaggeration to say that he was an old spy chief.

Unexpectedly, behind the puppet government was Katsuki Seiji. It seems that the Japanese invaders had big plans. They were determined to win in North China. They invested a lot of manpower, resources and money.

Compared to Shanghai, the Japanese spies in Beiping are much higher in both quantity and quality.

Even the Japanese spies in Nanjing are no match.

'Why is Niujima Man not in charge?'

'He is about to be transferred to the position of infantry regiment commander.'

'Oh...'

Zhang Yong understood.

It turned out that Niujima Man was about to be promoted.

For a Japanese colonel, regiment commander is the position with the highest status.

There are ten colonels, and one regiment commander.

The number of Japanese colonels was not small. But only one in ten could become a regiment commander.

And being a regiment commander was one of the prerequisites for promotion to the rank of major general.

If you weren't qualified to be a regiment commander, it meant you weren't qualified to be promoted to major general. You would eventually stop at colonel.

No matter how good you were at other things, you had to be a regiment commander for at least half a year before you were eligible for promotion to major general. The requirements were that harsh.

Therefore, in the early stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the number of Japanese generals was still relatively well controlled. However, later, as the war raged on and the army expanded, so did the ranks.

By the later stages of the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Japanese had few generals, but they let the others run wild.

Among them, there were thousands of generals. The ranks were almost the same as those of the Chinese army.

'How much do you know about this centipede?'

'He...'

'Tell us everything.'

'We think he's hiding out at Yenching University. He could be a teacher. Or an administrator. Or he could be in logistics...'

'You haven't told us anything.'

'No, we've already ruled out the possibility that he's a student.'

'He's a leader of the Red Party. He must be over 30 years old. How could he be a student? You're talking nonsense!'

'There are some students who are very old. Some are even 40 years old.'

'Are you serious?'

Zhang Yong shook his head.

These Japanese people are so stubborn.

Even an idiot can tell that Centipede can't be a student.

It's more likely that someone under Centipede's command is a student.

A name suddenly comes to mind: Zhao Gang. It seems that he is a student at Yenching University.

In case this world is messed up and there is a Zhao Gang...

That's actually quite good. I know someone.

'Is there any other information?'

'We found out that this centipede. Every Friday, there is a missing person ad in the newspaper. We judge that this is the password for the meeting.'

'What newspaper?'

'Many kinds. News reports, evening papers, business papers, and so on.'

'What's the mystery about the missing person ad?'

'Our organisers have studied it specifically. But they haven't figured it out.'

'Aren't you pretty good?'

'Er...'

Mima Asakura was at a loss for words. That's not what I said.

We did spend a long time studying the missing person ads published by Centipede, but we couldn't get a clue.

We knew that there was coded information hidden in them, but there was no way to decipher it.

It was frustrating.

But that was the reality.

This Centipede was very cunning and hard to deal with.